


Lock them in a cupboard, they'll work each other out.

by Kivea



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Comedy, Getting Together, Humor, I don't know how to tag this, M/M, Meddling, Meddling Friends, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 10:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18826630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivea/pseuds/Kivea
Summary: Go camping for the school trip, it'll be fun, you'll get to hang out with your friends. Well, yeah, that sounded all well and good in theory. Great, even. Not so great when these two assholes turned it into some dumb chick flick.They just needed a little push, right?





	Lock them in a cupboard, they'll work each other out.

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3: Confessions!

“I have a confession to make.”  

Kyle looked up at him, a scowl marring his face and his arms crossed as he surveyed both him and the blonde next to him with displeasure. “Spit it out, Stan.”  

“We were the ones who locked you in the cupboard.”  

“Why the  _fuck_ did you lock us in a cupboard?”  

Kenny shrugged, looking a lot less guilty than Stan felt, and answered with just as much nonchalance. “It’s what you do, right? Like, clichés and all that. You lock your friends in a cupboard and then they bang.”  

In all his years of knowing Kyle, Stan had never seen him go quite  _that_ shade of red.  

“We figured, put them in a cupboard, little bit of darkness, make all the dirty secrets come out, they screw, problem solved!”  

“Oh my god, Kenny, stop talking.”  

The blonde blinked with pure innocence. “What? He asked  _why_. His fault if he didn’t wanna hear the answer.”  

“I wasn’t expecting that!”  

“I don’t know why you weren’t. It’s pretty obvious, dude.”  

Kyle attempted to cover his embarrassment with his hands. He wasn’t very successful.  

“Look, Kyle, take it from me,” Kenny started as he swung an arm over Kyle’s shoulder. Stan half expected him to _hiss_ in anger. “Sometimes the best thing to do is to just go for it. Just lay all the cards on the table, what you want, what you’re willing for, how freaky you’d be willing to let him get. If you want to plow or be plowed-!”  

“Kenny!” they both shouted together that time. “Shut up!”  

“Sometimes you guys are so in sync it’s scary.”  

Kyle shoved the arm off his shoulders. “You guys are crazy. I don’t want to get  _freaky_ with anyone, let alone-!”  

“Hey!” Stan cut Kyle off loudly as someone joined them in the room. “Dude, hey, what’s up, long time no see.”  

Token stood in the doorway, shuffling from foot to foot looking kind of constipated. “Hey, I have – uh – a weird question.”  

“Shoot. What’s on your mind?”  

Kyle shot him a withering glare. Probably to tell him he was being weird. He was. He was  _panicking_ , Kyle. Panicking!  

“Well, Craig got back and has kind of zipped himself up in the tent and now won’t come out. And we can’t actually get the tent open, either. You don’t know what’s happened, do you?”  

“He and Kyle got freaky in a cu-!”  

“Kenny!” Kyle snapped even louder that time, almost hysterical. “Jesus, dude, you gotta let that joke go.”  

“You’re right, you’re right. Neither of you had the  _balls_ to-!”  

“Christ,” Stan gripped the bridge of his nose as the pair continued to argue. “Token, sorry, we…don’t know what happened.” 

“Right, sure,” Token did  _not_ look convinced. “Funnily, I think I’ve decided I don’t want to know.”  

“Probably for the best.”  

The idea had been so straight forward when Kenny had pitched it to him. They’d all grown tired of watching the two dance around each other like two preteens at a middle school dance. They had arrived at the campsite for their school trip on the Thursday morning, and since then the pair had gradually got more and more insufferable. By Saturday afternoon, something needed to be done. They couldn’t handle one more day.  

Cartman had been the one who suggested it initially to Kenny, and tasked Kenny with recruiting Stan and setting it up. Cartman had grown wise enough in his teen years to know that the best way to have fingers in multiple pies was to get other, more trustworthy people to do the dirty work.  

Kenny and Stan had tried to set them up. The cupboard had been such a classic idea. But he guessed when you had people as stubborn as Kyle Broflovski and Craig Tucker, it was never going to be that easy.  

They were in the room getting a telling off from Kyle for a little longer before the redhead left them to wallow in their guilt. Kenny didn’t look like he has much guilt to wallow in.  

“The rest of this trip is going to be hell if he doesn’t get his ass in gear,” Kenny said. “I’m telling you, dude. I can’t bear to watch them any longer.”  

“There’s only a day left,” Stan reasoned. “That’s all.”  

“It’s only been two and a half days so far and I’m already going crazy. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you, you’ve got to share a tent with him.”  

Stan grimaced at that. It was true, he had the misfortune of sharing a tent with his best friend who was sure to tell him in great detail every word that his ‘not crush’ had told him that day. “Yeah, but Tweek’s in our tent too. He mostly shuts up about it when he’s there.”  

This school trip had seemed like such a good idea. Camping with his best friends? Great. Not so great when these two assholes turned it into some dumb chick flick.  

\-- 

“Craig. Craig, seriously, you’re gonna need to come out eventually.”  

Silence. Dead, complete, silence.  

“Dude, c’mon, you’ve got all my stuff in there with you.”  

Clyde let out a huff and lent back on his arms as he observed the green door of their tent. Craig had been in there for at  _least_ twenty minutes, probably longer, he wasn’t sure. It had been twenty minutes since they’d noticed. So it was definitely longer.  

He was still sat there pouting by the time Token got back from where he had been speaking to their teammates to see if they knew what was wrong with the group ‘leader’.  

“Anything?”  

“Nothing,” Token shook his head. “I couldn’t find Tweek, he’s probably with his own team. Found Stan though, with Kyle and-!”  

There was the smallest movement in the tent. Quick, rushed. Then it stopped.  

Token’s eyes narrowed on the tent before he started speaking again louder. “Found Kyle’s team. They didn’t know what was wrong when I asked-!”  

Another shuffle. The sound of a zipper. Dark grey eyes appeared in the net that made the door’s window. Clyde was surprised to see his best friend glaring at hem. He’d begun to wonder if Craig was even in there.  

“You spoke to those assholes about me?”  

“So it does have something to do with them?” Token probed. “Or are you just touchy because I mentioned Kyle?”  

“I’m not-!” Craig let out a frustrated growl and his face disappeared for a moment. Clyde and Token exchanged a look. “I’m not  _touchy_ about anyone, okay?”  

“Real convincing.”  

“It just – them sticking their noses in things again. That’s all.”  

Clyde looked up at Token with a raised brow. “Is this about the c-r-u-s-h?”  

Token sniggered at the stage whisper spelling of the word. Craig’s face reappeared looking a little pinker in the face than before with the glare still in place. “Stop spelling it out like that, I still know what you’re saying, dumbass.”  

“I know, but you still refuse to do anything about it,  _dumbass_.”  

“You don’t have to tell us what happened. At least let us in our own tent though.”  

“Can’t even let a guy just wallow in peace, for fucks sake.”  

Clyde scrambled into the tent as soon as it was open, pleased to finally have access to his things again. Token came in after, zipping up the tent with care before the three of them were sat round in a circle together with nothing to say. He wanted to ask what had Craig’s panties in a knot, but apparently that topic was off limits.  

“Now we’re just three guys in a circle,” Craig muttered as he glared at Token. “Real fucking gay.”  

“You’d know all about that,” Token shot back.  

“I – uh – I have a confession.”  

The two of them turned to Clyde with raised brows, waiting for him with a mixture of encouragement and exasperation.  

“So, Cartman came up to me earlier today, with Kenny at his side, I think – y’know how he tries to use Kenny and Butters to like, make you lower your guard kinda thing?”  

“You’re rambling,” Craig drawled.  

“Right. Sorry. So, he came up to me and was all like ‘hey, Clyde, aren’t you sick of’ – I know we’re not supposed to talk about it but-!”  

“Clyde.”  

He snapped his mouth closed at Craig’s tired use of his name.  

“It’s alright. Just…tell your story.”  

“Alright. So, he was like, ‘hey, Clyde, aren’t you sick of watching Craig and Kyle dance around each other’ and all that. ‘Don’t you wanna do something about it, to help your best bro?’ and I was all, ‘dude, I’m not getting involved in a plan that’s got to do with my best bros. I know Craig, and I know he’d want me to have nothing to do with it’.”  

Token’s eyes were narrowed, as they usually were after one of his stories. After a moment he gave a nod signalling he’d caught up with the whole thing. Sometimes Clyde thought maybe he should go slower.  

Craig had a hand over the lower part of his face, eyes on Clyde but a grimace in his expression. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  

“Well,” Token tapped his fingers against his knees. “I think you made the right decision, for what it’s worth.”  

“Fucking right he did,” Craig muttered through his fingers. “Cartman should keep his nose out my fucking business.”  

“Maybe…”  

They both turned to Token, sat there with his lips pursed and a tilt to his eyes as he looked at Craig.  

“No,” Craig spat out. “Go back outside. You’re banned.”  

“C’mon, dude. It’s obvious to everyone. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”  

Clyde withered under the glare Craig was giving Token, and he wasn’t even on the receiving end. Still, he found the courage to agree: “He’s not wrong, bro.”  

“I know, but-!”  

“There’s no buts,” Token’s firm voice cut across the tent. “You like him, you should ask him. Do it here, it’ll be harder once we’re back home.”  

“What if it’s just…” Craig gestured with his hands. “Y’know. Being away. Or whatever.”  

“Then I guess you’ll find out.”  

\-- 

They were sat around with the teachers and other group leaders listening to the close up for the day after a late dinner. Kyle had been glad when Craig still sat down next to him despite the shit Stan and Kenny had pulled earlier. Not that there had been anything bad about being locked in a cupboard with the other boy. It had just got gradually…uncomfortable.  

Stir crazy.  

Craig had literally  _r_ _an_ from the cupboard once it was open and not spoken to him since.  

“Hey,” Kyle gave a forced smile as he attempted to make conversation. “Glad to see you – uh – out your tent?”  

The look of shame and horror on Craig’s face told him that was definitely not the right thing to say to make it less awkward.  

Thankfully, the teachers called for attention and he didn’t need to hear the answer.  

It was dull, as usual. A basic overview of what they would need to prepare for the next day and questions on if anyone had any problems. Wendy sat on his other side as head of her group of six, always willing to ask questions that no one else thought of. Usually he appreciated it, but that day he kind of just wanted it all to be over.  

“I need two of you to go to the assembly building and pick up the activity sheets for tomorrow morning’s activity, along with the large black duffle bag marked with Sunday’s date. Do we have any volunteers?”  

He was inspired. In the worst way.  

“Craig and I can do it!”  

He could’ve sworn the usually composed boy next to him let out a strangled squeak reminiscent of a guinea pig.  

“Brilliant,” the damage was done. The teacher was wrapping up. “I’ll see you all in the morning with your teams. Go enjoy what’s left of your evening, but don’t stay up too late.”  

The bustle of people echoed around the room as the teacher dropped the keys for the assembly hall in Kyle’s hands. He waited for Craig to stand up as the rest of the students filtered out to their groups and tents melding into the background.  

“Shall we?” Kyle suggested. Craig pulled himself to his feet and began walking.  

It was the worst walk of his life. Hands down. Absolutely.  

Craig was a brick wall, barely speaking as they made their way over. Not that Kyle was trying to engage him in conversation. He was too busy in his head trying to figure out why Craig was being so standoffish with him all of a sudden.  

_Maybe I gave it away. Maybe he knows. Maybe it makes him uncomfortable._

He gripped the key tighter in his hands and walked a little bit faster.  

Once they were in the hall looking, the tension began to dissolve. Mostly just because it was such a pain to find some black duffle bag with the right date marked on it.  

“You’d think she’d tell us where to look,” Craig grumbled as he searched through some bags that were on the stage. “I think these are spare tents.”  

“I might have it!” Kyle wafted a plastic case that held the activity sheets in. “There’s a few over here, but we just need one, right?”  

“Do they have times on them?”  

They rifled through the bags together. It didn’t take long for Craig to loosen up a little, ‘accidentally’ pushing him straight into the pile of bags. The wicked smirk on his face told Kyle it wasn’t an accident.  

He grabbed Craig’s ankle and brought him down on the bags when the asshole passed him.  

They spent a little too long mucking about in the bags, procrastinating leaving. By the time they’d found the right bag – because Kyle had ripped the sign off it to throw it at Craig – the weather had taken a turn.  

They stepped outside the hall to rain. Craig’s face scrunched up at the sight.  

“We could just stay here. I don’t really want to go to a tent in the rain.”  

“It’s pretty late,” Kyle confirmed when he checked his phone. “It’s not that bad. I think if we went fast…”  

“Alright. Let’s go.”  

It was the wrong move to make.  

They got half way back when the heavens opened. Craig grabbed his arm and pulled him under the closest shelter – the bathroom block that had an awning around the edge. He dumped the duffle bag on the floor and turned to see the rain battering down on the ground. Some kind of freak weather event, because he’d checked the weather forecast, and while it was meant it rain it wasn’t meant to be this bad.  

“Shit.”  

He turned to see Craig slouch against the edge of the building, scowling out at the rain. Their eyes met for a moment.  

Kyle’s lips twitched upwards in a smile. “Still beats being in a tent?”  

Craig chuckled low and turned away.  

Kyle made himself comfortable next to his friend, feeling the tension begin to rise once again. He let out a sigh as he pulled out his phone and tried to search for the forecast again. The signal was awful at the toilets. 

He gave up and slipped the phone back in his pocket after texting Stan. It was a pointless endeavour without signal, but he felt like he had to do something. They shared a tent with Tweek. At least if he got the message Stan could put the erratic boy’s nerves at ease. No one could claim he didn’t make the effort.  

Silence and stillness settled as they stood next to each other and looked out across the field, the tents within vision, but no one out and about to signal they were okay to. Just…wait it out.  

“I have a confession to make.” 

He had a flash of Déjà vu, but didn’t want to make an awkward situation even worse by bringing that conversation up. Instead he looked up at the dark haired man and waited for him to expand on the statement. He noticed the flush to his cheeks. The way he wasn’t meeting his eyes.  

“The other day, when we were locked in that cleaning cupboard. I...know who did it.”

His voice came out a bit wobblier than intended as he asked: “Who?”  

“It was Stan. I saw him looking through the window.” 

“I’m sorry about him,” Kyle tired to figure out how he was going to put this without explaining the why of it. “It was some dumb prank he and Kenny came up with. They apologised to me, and I gave them a good telling off.”  

“Yeah, but, I didn’t say anything. I just kind of...pretended I didn’t see him.”  

He took a moment to take it in. It was clear he was trying to get something across, but he wasn’t quite sure exactly...  

The flushed face. The eyes that couldn’t stay still. The downturn of his mouth and the way he had his hands shoved in his pockets.  

Kyle cleared his throat as his own face started to flame. “Oh. I see. I, uh, why didn’t you say anything?”  

“I didn’t think it was so bad. Being stuck in a cupboard, not being forced into whatever dumb activities the teachers had. And you’re not bad company.”  

“Thanks.”  

“No problem.”  

He noticed the way Craig’s shoulders slumped a little. Almost like he had been expecting something else. Hoping for something else. Kyle felt his embarrassment start to rise as he sucked up all his courage to make his own confession.  

“Well, if we’re on the topic of...things we should probably confess, I – uh – I was the one who suggested you to the counsellor for leading a group.”  

Craig’s eyes snapped down to him. “What?”  

“Well, I volunteered myself for our team, and I saw you guys were arguing about who was going to do yours, so I suggested to the counsellor that you’d be a good pick.”  

“You thought I’d be a good pick?”  

Kyle grimaced at the question. “Yes, but...I thought that if I had to be a leader with anyone, I’d rather it was you.”  

“Oh.”  

“Yeah,” he cleared his throat again. “So, sorry, I guess.”  

They continued to stand there, sheltering under the awning from the torrential rain that crashed to the ground around them. Kyle stood trying to gather his nerves and say something,  _anything_ , to continue the conversation to the direction he knew it needed to go in. Everyone had said it. Everyone had tried to push him. If he could just get enough courage then maybe...  

“I - uh – I'm glad you did suggest me to the counsellors.”  

“You are?”  

“It’s been nice. Having an excuse to spend time with you, without everyone else.”  

“Yeah. It has been,” Kyle felt a sile creeping across his face. “I’m glad. That you think it’s been nice, too.”  

“They trapped us in the cupboard for a prank, huh?”  

“Uh, sort of. They were trying to like...set us up, I think.”  

There was a strangled noise that Craig made. When Kyle looked up, he saw the man hiding his face mostly behind his hand.  

“They’re pretty dumb.”  

“Yeah. They are.”  

“But they had good reason to think it was a good idea. From...my end, at least.”  

“No, that’s - uh – they had good reason from both ends.”  

Kyle let out a breath of air as his toes curled in his damp shoes. “Cool.”  

“I,  _shit_ , I’m real bad at this...confessing thing.”  

“I’ll go first,” Kyle sucked in a breath as he prepared himself. “I like you, a lot. I’m glad we got to spend so much time together this weekend.”  

He felt Craig’s arm brush against his as the other boy moved. “I like you too. I have for a while.”  

“When we get back home, do you wanna go out some time?” Kyle looked up to Craig, seeing the whispers of a smile on the boy’s face, even if the grey eyes were still looking down at the floor. “You like the movies, right?”  

“Yeah, I do. I’ll let you pick.”  

“Shifting the responsibility, huh?”  

“Judging your choice,” Craig corrected.  

He finally looked up, and Kyle couldn’t stop the wide smile that spread across his face. It only got wider when Craig returned it, the taller boy looking away if only to try hide the toothy smile he gave. It was nice to see, a smile full of teeth.  

They spent longer than they needed under the awning to the toilets elbows bumping as they chattered aimlessly about anything.  

Despite what everyone hoped, on the final day of the trip the pair were no less insufferable. Stan and Token ended up leading the groups for the final activity given how distracted their actual team leaders were. They could only hope that things would get some kind of normality back once they got home and were back at school.  

**Author's Note:**

> Surprising no one 
> 
> I had the most fun writing this.


End file.
